Florida Legislature Defunds Abortion Giant Planned Parenthood

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Lawmakers in Florida have voted to defund the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, as well as to place new requirements on abortion facilities that mirror those currently being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.

House Bill 1411 reallocates funds that abortion providers had been receiving as Medicaid reimbursement, and prohibits the government from contracting with organizations that offer abortion services—with the exceptions of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Abortion facilities receive approximately $200,0000 a year in Medicaid funds.

“A state agency, a local governmental entity, or a managed care plan … may not expend funds for the benefit of, pay funds to, or initiate or renew a contract with an organization that owns, operates, or is affiliated with one or more clinics,” the bill reads.

Current state and federal law prohibits funds from being used toward abortion, but Florida lawmakers believe that the state shouldn’t help keep abortion facilities in business either.

“We pay their light bill, we pay their salaries, we pay all kinds of things when the state contracts with these clinics,” Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, outlined on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “Let’s get Florida out of the abortion business. That’s what this bill does.”

The bill also requires abortionists to obtain admitting privileges or transfer agreement with a local hospital and mandates stricter inspections at abortion facilities. In Texas and Mississippi, where admitting privilege laws have been passed, some abortion facilities have faced possible closure as they have been unable to find hospitals that willing to work with them.

“If an any owner, operator, or employee of an abortion clinic fails to dispose of fetal remains and tissue in a sanitary manner … consistent with the disposal of other human tissue in a competent professional manner, the license of such clinic may be suspended or revoked, and such person commits is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree,” the legislation additionally outlines.

H.B. 1411 passed the Senate by a vote of 25-15 on Wednesday after being approved by the House Senate 25-15. It now will be sent to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, who has not yet indicated whether or not he will sign the legislation.

Cecile Richard, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, claimed that the law will leave some women with no place to go to obtain health care.

“This bill would strip many women of their access to basic health care, such as cancer screenings, birth control, and abortion. As a health care provider, Planned Parenthood knows how laws like this leave women devastated,” she said in a statement. “Women in Texas have been forced to drive hundreds of miles to access abortion, or self-induce abortion without medical supervision.”

However, others note that the funds will be reallocated to other women’s health organizations in the state—as long as they do not end the lives of unborn children.

As previously reported, in its annual report released in late December, the national office of Planned Parenthood outlined that the organization performed 323,999 abortions nationwide during the 2014-2015 fiscal year.

However, while the organization also claimed that it is “stronger than ever,” its figures showed that the number of women visiting Planned Parenthood is the lowest in almost a decade. The report totals its services provided as being 9,455,582, with business being down by nearly a million persons from the year before, when figures totaled 10,590,333.

Become a Christian News Network Supporter...

Dear Reader, has ChristianNews.net been of benefit and a blessing to you? For many years now, the Lord has seen fit to use this small news outlet as a strong influential resource in keeping Christians informed on current events from a Biblical worldview. Striving to bring you the news without compromise and with Christ in focus, we press on despite recent changes in Facebook and Google's algorithms, which has limited our readership, and, as a result, has affected operational site revenue. If you have benefited from our news coverage, would you please prayerfully consider becoming a Christian News Network supporter by clicking here to make a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the truth widely and freely published and distributed?May Christ continue to be exalted through this work!

Commenting Guidelines: We welcome readers to comment on stories, but we will not tolerate remarks containing profanity, vulgarity, violence, blasphemy, all caps or any discourteous behavior. Thank you for your cooperation in maintaining a respectful public environment where readers can engage in reasonable discussion about matters affecting our nation and our world.Read More →

Josey

“This bill would strip many women of their access to basic health care, such as cancer screenings, birth control, and abortion. As a health care provider, Planned Parenthood knows how laws like this leave women devastated,” she said in a statement. “Women in Texas have been forced to drive hundreds of miles to access abortion, or self-induce abortion without medical supervision.”

Where are the statistics? Where are these women? Planned Parenthood is about abortions for women don’t go there for anything but that. And Planned Parenthood’s statement that the defunding cause women to self-induce abortion w/out medical supervision, where are these women? How many have done this? There is no way to prove such a thing is happening, they just keep putting out blanket statements, I guess they think if they say a thing again and again, over and over that some ppl will just believe it…ha

gizmo23

Many women use PP. You are mistaken

Oboehner

Then they can pay for it, you wanna play, you gotta pay.

Carcosa

they already do you idiot.

1no Yamanaka

Flagged

Carcosa

shut up and piss off you pathetic impostor

Carcosa

they already do you idiot

gogo0

ahh, there is that christ-like attitude american christians are so farmously known for

Oboehner

Do show chapter and verse how that’s not “Christ-like”.

gogo0

sorry, i dont have one. i just assumed that jesus never said ‘you gotta pay to play’. must have been that supply-side jesus everyone loves so much

jim

There are 113 million women in the US aged 18-44, says the US census. Planned Parenthood says it serves more than 2 million women in a year — that’s only 1.7 percent.

Anne Green

2 million women are still a lot. And what about women over age 44 (like myself)? I’m sure of few of them are still served by PP. What’s your point, Jim? We shouldn’t have PP because it doesn’t serve enough people so close it down? That’s ridiculous. Maybe because the 2 million are predominantly the poor?

jim

My comparison of statistics was merely to give more perspective to the statement of “many women,” which could be taken to imply and a large percentage of women are served.

gizmo23

There are probably less people that actually belong to a pro life group so I guess they don’t matter

Anne Green

It’s not hard to find the stats on the effects of this law on poor TX women. PP provided me with annual physicals in college when I had no insurance and also helped me detect a lump in my breast, which I had removed. They do a lot more than abortion.

jim

Thousands of public agencies and county health departments, health clinics and doctors do the same things as Planned Parenthood without being required to do abortions.

Jalapeno

Many of those health clinics don’t actually do the same things as PP. There were no health clinics in my county that could provide me with anything more than a basic BCP, none could do a pap smear, and they were much smaller and had a long wait time.

Jalapeno

I know plenty of women who go to Planned Parenthood for things that, you know..aren’t abortions. Heck, my local PP doesn’t even do abortions.

jim

Planned Parenthood requires at least one location in every one of its affiliates to do abortions. Some don’t do abortions, as you mention, but many of them do.

Jalapeno

..Okay?

That doesn’t really mean that their point is true.

Josey

If you want to go to a place that has numerous health violations, holes in floor where rats can enter, un-sterilized equipment then by all means you go for it but bet where you go, the poor cannot go, only God knows what kind of infections those who are too poor endure not to mention the psychological problems they endure the rest of their lives.

Anne Green

Josey, your comment makes no sense. Are you saying Jalapeno’s PP has health hazards? Or that poor women deserve unsanitary conditions? How Christian of you.

Jalapeno

I’ve been to several PPs..they’ve all been perfectly clean.

jim

The bill does not restrict any health services in any way; it merely requires that our tax money shall not be used to pay for elective, non-mandatory health services.

Josey

That is what I said, the first paragraph at the above post is their words not mine.

Speaking of hyperbole and nonsense, more opinion with no corroborating information.

Paige Turner

And I note the you provide nothing to back up your assertions.

Please go right ahead and prove me wrong with cited references and facts. (A fact does not come from a right wing/religious website)

Oboehner

You’re unsubstantiated claims back up my assertions.

“Only 3% of PP business is abortions.” Burden of proof is on you, do post some cited facts. (A fact does not come from a left wing/infanticidal website)

Paige Turner

3%

Oboehner

Care to back that claim up?

Paige Turner

Sure.

3%

Pasting links here always gets the post removed.

Oboehner

Need to learn how to get around that.

Paige Turner

No, not really. 3% is a fact.

Oboehner

Yeah, riiiiiight…

Paige Turner

Glad you agree

Oboehner

Not exactly, I know the number to be 95%.

Paige Turner

Sounds about right.

Oboehner

Yes, 95% of their “healthcare” is abortions.

Paige Turner

Oh dear. You really don’t get it do you?

Oboehner

Perfectly, how about you?

Paige Turner

Yes, I think they are doing a good job.

jael2

The cash cow for PP is dismembering little boys and girls and selling their body parts. If they stopped chopping up babies, their doors would shut. The shakedown of American taxpayers, to provide murder for hire, needs to stop immediately.

Paige Turner

No, that is not true. The makers of that video are also on criminal charges as it was a fabrication.

3% of PP is Abortions. 97% is sexual health for Men and Women. PP provides a valuable community service and helps prevent STI’s and HIV and keeps people healthy and safe.

jim

None of the videos by CMP are fabrications, but all are footage of actual meetings with and statement by PP officials themselves. All of the entire videos are available for view by anyone on line; nothing has been hidden or kept away from the public. Criminal charges may be filed by anyone; no one has been convicted of any crime.

Paige Turner

So why are the makers of the videos being prosecuted?

They are fabrications and entirely untrue.

Josey

you lie and deny, deny, deny.

Paige Turner

Please feel free to provide facts to back up your assertion.

jim

It’s 3 percent only because PP counts every condom and birth control pill as a “service,” and every abortion as another “service,” even though they are in no way equivalent in frequency or cost/revenue. 12 percent of women who go to PP have abortions. 97 percent of pregnant women who go to PP have abortions. Abortion revenue is about 40 percent of PP’s total medical revenue. This information is all available within PP’s annual reports and 1099s.

Anne Green

It’s not TOTAL revenue, it’s non-governmental revenue, a huge difference. They don’t bill the government (or insurance) for services not covered, such as abortion. It’s like trying to say 100% of my income comes from me selling bicycles (because I sold one at my garage sale last month) when the vast majority of my revenue for the month came my employment. 86% of my non-employment related revenue came from the sale of a bike, but it was nowhere near 100% of my total revenue.

jim

I said abortion revenue, charged each woman who has an abortion done, is 40% of its MEDICAL revenue, not of its total revenue.

Anne Green

You said total medical revenue. Does PP receive revenue that isn’t medical?

jim

Revenue from fund-raising dinners and other events, like used-book sales, donations (including those resulting from a wide range of email and web-based requests), rentals and leases of property, attorney fees, for example.

Paige Turner

3% of PP business is abortions

The rest is sexual health for both Men and Women.

Oboehner

“Don’t take away my birth control” You got legs don’t you? Keep them closed, that’s your birth control. I wonder how much “healthcare” funding was used up on those signs – complete with the little trademark symbol.

Jalapeno

You don’t honestly think that people are just going to stop having sex, do you?

Heck, some people think that a woman has a religious obligation to have relations with her husband. Are you going to say that she shouldn’t follow her beliefs?

” I wonder how much “healthcare” funding was used up on those signs ”

I’m thinking exactly none. The funding that comes from the government goes to the services they provide.

Oboehner

If people actually took responsibility for it, what do you think?
Ah, people who think a woman has a responsibility to have relations with their husband also believe infanticide is wrong.

“The funding that comes from the government goes to the services they provide.” and the providers pockets, and signs for protests, and…

Anne Green

Some of these young women are married, I guess you expect them to “keep their legs closed” too? If you truly wanted to keep abortion rare, you’d be 100% in favor of birth control for all Americans, even the poor ones who need it most.

Josey

very few I’d guess unless they are having an affair that they want to hide from hubby so have an abortion out of fear of being found out, another inconvenience, most married women are trying to have a baby not abort one and I know a lot of married women.

Anne Green

Yeah, so do I. And some of them get birth control from PP. And some of them don’t want more children. But I guess in Josey’s world married women don’t use birth control.

you realize and none of these efforts to defund PP have been successful?

robertzaccour

We’re still hopeful.

Carcosa

you’re an idiot, on what ground will you deny PP their funds?

Carcosa

and then PP will challenge them and get their funding back, why do these idiot bother?

Bob Johnson

This could prove to be very interesting as not only do clinics provide abortions, but hospitals also perform abortions. If a hospital only preformed abortions for the rape, incest, and life of the mother, could they not be sued by women for discrimination due to the fact that other abortions are legal? However, if the hospital does perform the abortion it will lose Medicare reimbursement.

Get Breaking Christian News in Your Inbox!

Sign Me Up! Top Daily Top Weekly

Christian News Headlines

Keep your site fresh and your visitors coming back by featuring Christian News Network's top news stories on your site. Learn more →

Connect With Us:

Learn More

About Christian News Network

Christian News Network provides up-to-date news and information affecting the body of Christ worldwide from an uncompromising Biblical worldview. Our objective is to present the news with the word of God as our lens, and to bring to light what is hid in the darkness. Learn more →